DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
The University of Zagreb (1669) is the oldest and biggest university in South-Eastern Europe. Soon after the establishing of the University of Zagreb, Faculties of Law, Theology and Philosophy started operating. The Chairs of the Faculty of Philosophy were appointed gradually. In naturalist field the teaching started in 1896, with first lectures in mineralogy and geology, and then in botanic, physics, mathematics, chemistry and zoology and geography. A long endeavour of the Science Department of the Faculty of Philosophy to attain the status of Faculty, finally materialized in 1946, when the Faculty of Science was established. In 1947 Department of Geography became a part of newly founded Faculty, continuing its long-time tradition.
Today, Geography Department of the Faculty of Science is the main research institution in the field of Geography in Croatia. It is active in three main directions: fundamental research, applied research and education. There are averagely 400 students at the undergraduate and three graduate studies.
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THE NEED FOR A SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
Like a number of other scientific and educational institutions in the region, the Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, faces numerous challenges that require critical thinking and charting a new path. The changes in the structure of labour markets are forcing us to critically examine existing university curricula and develop new ones to better respond to new demands. At the same time, the reduction trend in government financing of science and higher education generates the need for identifying new sources of funding. On the other side, the approaching membership in the unified scientific area of European Union provides new opportunities for a closer international cooperation in scientific and educational fields, as well as the access to new funding sources. In particular, the Bologna process is an opportunity for creating new higher education curriculum, and expanding the application of GIS and other geo-information technologies that could strengthen geography as a scientific discipline, educational course and an approach in solving problems of modern society. Furthermore, the spatial turn in social sciences as well as the cultural turn in geography demand identifying what today’s applied geography is, as well as broadening of the framework of applied geography in the context of “useful knowledge.” In conclusion: the question of applicability and value of geographic research and probing the relation between theory and practice are crucial for the position and the importance of geography as an academic discipline in the 21st century.
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KEYNOTE LECTURE
Keynote lectures will include presentations by Prof. Antoine Bailly and Prof. Michael Pacione, authors of many works in applied geography including books Applied geography for the entrepreneurial university (ed. A. Bailly by and L.J. Gibson, Brookings, 2008), Applied geography: a world perspective (ed. by A. Bailly and L.J. Gibson, Kluwer, 2004) and Applied geography: principles and practice (ed. by M. Pacione, Routledge, 1999).
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THE GOAL
The goal of the international scientific conference “Applied geography in theory and practice” is to provide a forum for an exchange of experiences and discussions of potentials of geography in solving the problems of spatial, social and economic development, including the study of human influence in shaping the environment. Contributions from different theoretical and disciplinary discourses that discuss the real or potential opportunities for applying geographical theories and methods in solving society’s problems and challenges are expected. Themes that explicitly accentuate the application possibilities of geography are especially encouraged.
Themes:
- Relation between theory and practice in geography (fundamental and applied research)
- Applied physical geography and geoecological analyses
- Protection and management of natural resources
- Natural risk management
- Spatial social and economic analysis
- Regional and spatial planning
- Valorisation and protection of cultural landscapes
- Spatial perception and imagination – its use in political, social and economical strategies
- Applied GIS and other geo-information technologies
- Geographic curriculum and applied geography
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Cres
